The Cauldron Rises

[Corwin]

The sneaking plan depends on Waukeen, so if she has a way to get us in such as taking the place of some of the merchants delivering all the way to Noir Jardin that works. If not we'll still be able to use what she knows of guard routes and schedules from all the merchants that she can oversee and try to sneak in that way.

That copy-pasted, are you giving me free reign to come up with something that Waukeen can reasonably provide us?

[Anastasia]

No, I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.

The next morning Alicia, Seira and Elle are sharing breakfast. A simple meal of fresh bread and salted ham, with a few sides of soft cheese to go with it.

Elle herself is middle aged and yet draconic, bearing any years with an unnatural vigor. A faint tinge here, a hint of scales there, a slight shift to the shape of her jaw. Nothing serious despite the power she has channeled, magic molding her. "I can keep the Cauldron under control while you all are attacking Avernus," she says.

At the same time, Alicia hears Syala's voice in her mind. 'Good luck today. Come back victorious and I'll show you the rewards I have planned for you. If all else fails, give the devils a few hits for me.'

A moment later, Seira hears, 'Ah, Seira!' Waukeen sounds in your mind, 'My agent will be at the Cauldron shortly, within two hours. He is a tall, thin mercane named Elegy. He'll inform you more of things once he gets there. Do be careful - I hear Nessus is miserable this time of year and the profit margins are worse, plus the neighbors are absolutely terrible.'

[Ebiris]

'There'll be lots of hits for sure, I'll see you soon,' Alicia sends back to Syala as she eats the food on offer here at the Cauldron.

[Corwin]

'All true!' Seira cheerfully agrees. 'I'll be sure not to spend too long there.'

"Appreciated," she says out loud, unwilling to let melancholy sink and take hold. Amaryl will probably be beside herself from worry, but the same would hold for Elle as well. "You know, maybe you and Amaryl could think of what we'll actually do with Zariel once we succeed? That's this pesky part of the planning we just skipped."

[Ebiris]

"Even if her fall was precipitated by the God King's power, she still served as a Lord of Hell," Alicia says. "Still, devils understand debts, we can hold that over her in the short term, and hopefully find some way to rekindle the spark of goodness in her heart. If we can't do that much we won't have a chance with Torm after all."

[Corwin]

"It can't be hard to treat her better than Bel and Lixer must, and all devils regret what they are deep down," Seira agrees. "Must be even worse for Fallen. I was just talking about logistics-- ah, speaking of." She snaps her fingers, granting the powers of her proxy for the first time since her ascension, and Donald gains them while in the shower.

[Corwin]

"So anyway," Seira continues, "Waukeen's agent will be here in a couple hours, and he should have all the information we might need to plan our approach."

[Anastasia]

"Good luck and good fortune to you," Elle says, "I'll take that time to go check the shops." She rises, "I need to talk to Hellman as well on how his nightmares are. Last I talked to him, he said they were getting worse."

[Ebiris]

"That sounds ominous," Alicia says when Elle drops that info. "Are they natural, or is some magic behind it?"

[Corwin]

"Refresh me on that?" Seira likewise requests.

[Anastasia]

"They're the dreams he's had ever since Sylian bewitched his body to restore itself and regenerate," Elle reminds you, "They've gotten worse lately. The dreams aren't magical or are more likely suppressed somehow - antimagic doesn't stop them, either. Nightmares he can't ever quite remember, of strange and alien things. His words, not mine. Things that shouldn't be."

[Corwin]

"Let's go over it from the top," Seira requests. "There's time until Elegy arrives, anyway."

[Anastasia]

"Alright," Elle agrees, "Shortly after you two founded your divine realms, Oberuth began to regenerate..."

Flashback log posting. This was a fairly interesting and important conversation, so pasting it verbatim.

> That gets Oberuth to grunt, "I'm not in trouble...besides the trouble of getting here. Elle's other reason is that I'd find the means to strengthen myself in Ysgard." He turns to look out over the fjord, "I've had dreams, dreams I think you need to know about...no, I know you do. I know that as much as that they make me shudder every night when I awaken from them."
<Alicia> "Go on," Alicia prods cautiously, walking over to stand next to him overlooking the chill waters.
> "I'm standing in Balmuria when I look up. I see the sky, the stars, Selune, Lathander...then the misty realms of the ethereal, like I'm racing ahead." He pauses to reflect on this, "Then the Silver Sea, then...everything. The Heavens and the Hells, and all between, but I don't stop. I keep going until I see emptiness. It's white, and...empty. It's the only word I've been able to figure to describe it. It's nothing. It's nothing and has a presence. Then..."
<Seira> "Entropy?" Seira asks, hoping she's wrong in how she understood this dream.
* Alicia knows exactly what Hellman is talking about. "No. The Far Realm," she says for Seira, recognizing it from the disastrous teleport that sent her and Latha there.
> "Yes. How I know that....?" Oberuth spreads his hands as he looks out, "I just do. Then...screaming space. Everything that you could imagine is twisted into...I can't describe it. I feel my mind break. It's...I very literally feel it shatter. Yet I feel a hand pulling my awareness out of terrified madness and making me look further. Then I realize that this isn't a place, but creatures. A court. A court in waiting." Licking his lips as his voice becomes strained, "The rule is three. Each of them have three meanings, only one that we can comprehend. They sing a story...the echo of three. Three. There we three, and one broke apart into three more. Always three. It's a holy word to them. Then...past them. A place, a thing. I can't speak of it. It is endless. It's...it's watching. Not me, it doesn't see me. In one bloated hand it holds a sphere. In that sphere I see everything, from the highest realms, to the Hells, to Balmuria. It's watching."
<Alicia> "The Endless Chaos," Alicia murmurs. But why would Hellman be having dreams of it? Is the Arbiter trying to send them a message through him? Why?
> "In it's shadow is where my eyes go next. This is something I can understand, a walking corpse. It's face is twisted into a deathsmile, a bony finger beckoning for my attention. I scream and I scream, but I look. Damn it, I look! He whispers to me, sweetly as a lover. "Grow strong. I am his gift to Creation, the one past the number. Because it must always be three. That no matter our differences, we must triumph."
* Seira can guess at who this is with a far better accuracy, but remains silent, waiting for Hellman to continue.
> "I watch and watch...and I wake up every time. Every time...I walk to the kitchen, draw a cutting knife, and impale into my brains through my right eye. The pain is what breaks the trance. Pain...but the dagger falls out. Only a trick of blood, the wound heals almost immediately."
<Seira> "Cutting yourself is bad!" Seira exclaims.
* Alicia ... isn't sure how to respond to that. "So you're supposed to by Sylian's gift? Or the other's?" She can hardly bring herself to say Ao, although she's unsure it matters.
> "Sylian's." Oberuth says, with a grim little smile. "I've tried several means of things and nothing lethal sticks. The damage regenerates away." He continues to look out over the waves, "The last time I had the dream, he said something else. "A long struggle is ahead for all of us." As the wind blows his cloak about, "That no matter our differences, he will aid all of us so that Creation can be safe and that we have an ally even in madness."
<Seira> "Aww, he is the nicest lich I've ever heard of," Seira deadpans.
> "A lich's mercy," Oberuth's own voice is deadpan as well. "....seems my luck always leads me deeper into the insanity and magic, doesn't it?"
<Seira> "Don't forget the planes."
<Alicia> At least that clarifies his goals, for they'd been inscrutable to Alicia thus far. Still, the pattern fits, so she thinks she can trust it. "All who exist labour under the threat of entropy." She shares a glance with Seira. "I think there is much we need to tell you, Hellman..."
<Seira> "I hoped there would be no need to burden you with this, Hellman," Seira says with true regret, nodding at Alicia. "But events do seem to be forcing our hand in the matter."
> "I know." He says that with a plain, tired smile. He offers his hand out to both of them, "It never ends. We fight and we fight and we fight, and there's always another struggle ahead. And...somehow, I don't mind. It reminds me of why I'mstaying in Balmuria and that I want to make a better tomorrow."
<Seira> "I'm always in for that," Seira agrees, her mood changing rapidly at his words. She takes his hand. "You know just the right thing to say!"
<Alicia> "It's a long and lonely struggle ahead for us," Alicia clasps her hand over Seira's and Hellman's, her own demeanour sollemn, never having wanted such a terrible responsibility. "But the stakes have never been higher."
> "It reminds me of leading just a few men on raids, back in the liberation war." Oberuth says, "Lonely, hard work with all the world against you. But together..." He looks to each of them in turn, "To victory."
<Alicia> "Victory," Alicia echoes that single word, although in a pinch she'll settle for survival.
* Seira smiles, looking ahead towards the bright future she is certain of! "Victory, and a better world to all."

"...and in time, the dreams have become more indistinct, but still bothering him. His aging's completely stopped as well - he uses magic to look older for his rare appearances anymore, but he's vigorous as a man in his early prime." Elle continues. "He's held up under the nightmares well, but I worry if they're getting worse. We know precious little about what Sylian's done, but I still haven't found anything that deals lethal harm to him. Elements, force, negative energy, positive energy - nothing sticks. Oracles and divinations don't help, either."

[Ebiris]

"If they've been at the same level for so long, any change is probably portentous," Alicia says. "Sylian might be on the move."

[Anastasia]

"Hey, Seira!"

Before anyone else can reply, the door is thrown open. Donald is there, dripping wet and wearing a pair of short, knee length breeches, leaving his ankles and knees bare. He's wearing nothing else, upper body ripped and scale-covered in places.

As he drips soapy bathwater over the floor, "What gives with this all of a sudden?"

Elle takes a moment to enjoy the gaze, "Dear," she says slowly, "You're dripping water everywhere."